Field
The present disclosure relates to cathodes, lithium batteries including the cathodes, and methods of preparing the cathode.
Description of the Related Technology
Lithium batteries are used in various applications due to their high voltage and high energy density characteristics. For example, in the field of electric vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), a lithium battery having high energy density is preferred because a prolonged operation at a high temperature is necessary and a large amount of electricity has to be charged or discharged during the operation. The characteristics of the lithium battery are affected by the anode, the electrolyte, the separator, and other components inside the battery.
In general, a cathode is prepared by coating a metal current collector with a cathode active material slurry and then drying the coated current collector. The cathode active material slurry is dried to form a cathode active material layer. When the cathode is prepared by using a water-based cathode active material slurry, the wettability of the cathode with respect to an electrolyte solution may decrease. In addition, the high-rate characteristics and lifetime characteristics of the lithium battery may degrade. Therefore, a cathode having increased wettability with respect to an electrolyte solution is in demand when it can be prepared using aqueous cathode active material slurry.